YTV
YTV is a Canadian English-language cable television specialty channel aimed at youth, avaiable nationwide through cable and satellite television. Presently it is wholly owned by Corus Entertainment. The YTV name is thought by some viewers to be an abbreviation for Youth Television, however the channel's website denies this. The channel operates two time-shifted feeds, East Eastern Time and West Pacific Time. History Launched on September 1, 1988, YTV was the successor to two prior special programming services operated by various Ontario cable companies beginning in the late 1970's. The two largest shareholders in YTV were two cable companies, Rogers Cable and a company known as CUC Broadcasting, which would later be acquired by Astral Media. By 1995, through various acquisitions and trades, Shaw had secured full control of YTV it was spun off as part of Corus Entertainment and Family Channel in 1999. After Corus and Family Channel took control of the channel in 1999, YTV began to use a Nickelodeon-style gross-out factor in its branding, with much less slime, with its mantra and former slogan being Keep It Weird. Over the years, YTV used a number of different on-air logos, featuring the same arrangement of white letters on various bizarre and imaginative creatures. The logo used on production credits and thus presumably the official logo features this arrangement on a red screen of a stylized purple television set. The channel's advertisements often focus on promoting the brand through crude humour. In the fall of 2005, a new post-6:00 pm. advertising style was developed for older audiences, which used a much simpler logo and much sleeker packaging with barely any gross-out tactics. In the spring of 2006, this look was adapted for the entire station. In September 2009, the logo was slightly changed. It featured new colours of the logo, and the background of the YTV logo was simplified. Now there are many large, opaque digital on-screen graphics telling you which programs are coming next, and promotions of the programs. YTV's got of the programming of Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney and other programming of animation. Programming blocks Since the station launched, YTV has been well-known for dividing their broadcasts into distinct programming blocks for a variety of reasons. An unnamed programming block which later became The Treehouse and The Afterschool Zone, now known simply as The Zone, were the first and second blocks established in the station's early years. This was done primarily as a tactic to comply with Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission CRTC restrictions on advertising in children's programming: imported programming would run a few minutes short due to fewer ads being permitted compared to US stations. Instead of filling the time with public service announcements or other filler material, the idea of devoting several minutes between programs to interaction between live-action hosts was utilized, and has proven successful to this day. Other blocks, such as Limbo and Bionix, have been created for the specific purpose of designating programming intended for older or specific audiences. Without similar advertising restrictions being applied, these blocks are unhosted. 'Current blocks' = 'The Zone' The Zone airs weekdays. Past blocks [[The Treehouse|'The Treehouse']] The Treehouse was a daily programming block aimed at children. It was hosted by PJ Todd, PJ Krista, and PJ Katie, and featured puppets known as The Fuzzpaws. The Treehouse aired many shows such as '' Bananas in Pajamas, Once Upon a Hamster, The Big Comfy Couch, 509-400 Langside, and PJ Katie's Farm. This segment originally did not have a specific name, and ran from 10AM EST until switching over to The Afterschool Zone. The original hosts were PJ Jen and PJ Chandra. PJ Gord acted as a substitute for both this block and The Afterschool Zone. The Treehouse block has since been spun off into its own specialty channel, Treehouse TV. 'The Alley The Alley was the original weekend morning programming block, which was hosted by both the existing PJs from weekday segments and the Grogs. '''Time 'Big Fun Weeknights' Big Fun Weeknights aired marathins of various TV shows weeknights on YTV. 'YTV News' YTV News was a 30-minute news show. It aired on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, and was advertised as being the only national, youth-oriented TV Newsmagazine. YTV News was hosted by Janis Mackey, Marret Green, Exan, Honey Khan, Cory Atkins, Mark McAllister, and Wilf Dinnick, who covered many stories from Canadian elections to world issues. Viewers of YTV News were encouraged to create their own news editorials about themselves and send them in to be broadcast. YTV News shared facilities with CTV News and was briefly rebroadcast on CTV on weekend mornings, albeit with the title Wuz Up. 'The Breakfast Zone' The Breakfast Zone (or B-Zone) was aired in a morning time slot as the name implies. Originally hosted by PJ Jenn and PJ Paul, with Aashna soon replacing Jenn, the block was intended as a morning version of The Zone, but functioned more as a long-running single program than an actual cartoon block. Programs started at much more arbitrary times as the banter between the live-action hosts became more of a central focus than mere filler material. The block was later re-branded as the B-Zone, hosted by Taylor, and then re-branded again as the popular B-Zone, hosted by PJ Katie (Jennifer Katie Racicot) and Zeke, a curious creature from outer space (performed by puppeteer Todd Doldersun). 'Big Fun Movies' YTV has Movies with favorites like Warner Bros, Universal Studios, Disney, Paramount and Nickelodeon, Dreamworks, Fox, MGM and Many More. but is hosted by Carlos Bustamante. 'Shift' Shift was broadcast in prime time and aired many of YTV's most popular shows. Some of Shift's programming included ReBoot ''and ''Goosebumps. Shift was hosted by Aashna and Paul. It was dropped in favour of extending The Zone" by one hour. 'Brainwash' Brainwash was a former weekend programming block that aired on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. It was hosted by Carrie (musician and puppeteer Ali Eisner) and Ed (Shaun Majumder) from a colourful set featuring pipes and video screens. Shaun Majumder left the show in 1997 and was replaced by Peter Oldering. The concept was created and originally .produced by Kim J. Saltarski and Atul N. Rao (eventually forming writer/producer team The Membrains), later produced by Karen Young. Brainwash had many slogans such as Put a spin on your reality, Headaches a''Daria''re an excellent source of iron, and YTV's laundromat of choice. The theme was a play on the name using bubbles, washing machines, and brain visuals. Brainwash was similar to The Zone, but was much longer. 'Snit Station' Snit Station replaced Brainwash in the weekend morning slot and was hosted by Stephanie Broschart and YTV's robotic mascot, Snit. 'Limbo' Limbo was a block for teenagers. It aired from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. 'The Dark Corner' A former programming block that aired on Saturday evenings. 'YTV Jr.' YTV Jr. boasted 40 hours of commercial-free programming per week and was aimed at the pre-school demographic. This programming block later became obsolete as Treehouse TV, YTV's dedicated children's channel, became widely available. 'Vortex' Vortex aired on YTV from 2001 to June 24, 2006. It was formerly hosted by Stephanie Broschart, who left in 2003 and was replaced by Paula Lemyre. Unlike its predecessors, Vortex was exclusive to Saturday mornings. Vortex was also based mainly on action-oriented cartoons (such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Xiaolin Showdown, Sonic X, and Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, It ended on June 24, 2006 upon Paula's departure from YTV, and was temporarily replaced by The Zone Summer Weekends, a weekend edition of The Zone hosted by Sugar and Carlos although the shows remained the same until Crunch launched in September 2006. 'Bionix' Bionix was YTV's action programming and anime block airing from September 10, 2004-February 7, 2010. For the final time, the block aired on Sundays from 12:00 am. to 2:00 am. from September 2009 until the block's demise. Bionix originally aired on Friday nights, and later on Saturday nights, and was a main source for anime programming.programming. Show Night. Law '' 'Time' Spielberg. [[YTV's Super Hero All-Stars|'All-Stars']] Juilet 'Retro' YTV. 'Blowout' ''Yukon 'Generation' Program jockeys Until the mid-1990's, YTV called their program jockeys PJ's in the same vein as disc jockey (DJ) or video jockey (VJ). Current hosts of these segments have since dropped the moniker of PJ. *Crunch * *Time *All-Stars *Retro * 'Past programming jockeys' *Simon Mohos *Joyce Quansah *Ajay Fry *Stephanie Beard (Sugar) *Paula Lemyre *Phil Guerrero, also known as PJ Fresh Phil *Paul McGuire, also known as PJ Paul *Daryn Jones *Jenn Beech, also known as PJ Jenn *Jennifer Katie Racicot, also known as PJ Katie *Shaun Majumder (Ed Brainbin) *Anand Rajaram, who voiced Snit *Taylor (Phil McCordic) *Gordon Michael Woolvett, also known as Gord the PJ Man *PJ Todd *PJ Krista *Pat Kelly *Janis Mackey Frayer, also known as PJ Jazzy Jan *Shandra, also known as PJ Rocking Shan *Aashna Patel, also known as PJ Aashna *Stephanie Broschart *Ali Eisner *The Grogs, puppeteers Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley *Marty Stelnick, puppetee *Atul N. Rao, the puppeteer of the original Snit *Laurie Gelman *Michael Quast, also known as Michael Q *Elizabeth Becker *Rachael Crawford Programs of note As an early specialty station with a focus on an ambiguously defined area such as youth programming, YTV has incorporated many unique and niche programs into their schedule over the years. 'British sitcoms' Due to a general lack of original programming for specialty services in its early years, YTV often filled its schedule with older or more obscure types of acquisitions not normally seen on other services. One of the most well-known additions has been British sitcoms, which were initially used to fill prime time slots, but due to popular demand remained prominently on the station's late night schedule for well over a decade. Highlights included the North American premiere of Red Dwarf as well as a persistent run of the improv series Whose Line is it Anyway?, but because YTV's standards for content had not been firmly established at the time, both series endured excessive censorship. Although prime time programming slowly became more focused, programs such as Are You Being Served?, Keeping Up Appearances, and Yes Minister found cult audiences in late night time slots, and aired free of time and content edits for years as more focus was placed on younger audiences viewing at earlier hours. However, in 2003 when YTV began marketing their late night hours towards older youth viewers, it was finally decided to remove the remaining shows from the schedule. 'Power Rangers' In 1993, YTV obtained the Canadian broadcast rights to the sensationally popular action adventure series Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers on their channel, which played to a receptive audience on weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings, trailing the American broadcast by several months. However, due to a handful of complaints sent to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, YTV was pressured to remove the series from their line-up due to its violent content. Despite not actually being a member of the CBSC board, YTV complied and pulled the series before the end of its first season. While a phone-in poll was conducted to see if viewers wanted Mighty Morphing Power Rangers back on YTV, no further installments of the Power Rangers series ever aired on the network until 2011, but commercials for toys and videos were advertised on the network. Fox and the CanWest Global System stations became the only broadcasters of the series in Canada. Later versions of the series ran on Family from 2003 to 2010. The newest series, Power Rangers: Samurai, airs on Nickelodeon (Canada) a sister station of YTV)and on May 7th, 2011, it began airing on YTV, effectively bringing back the franchise to the network that had barred it. 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' In 1997, YTV premiered the popular series Buffy the Vampire Slayer one week before it began airing concurrently in the US on the WB. From the beginning this was regarded as a surprising move, as the mature nature of the series was a noticeable contrast to most of the station's acquisitions, and clearly catered towards an older audience despite seeing many late afternoon airings. However, it quickly became one of their highest rated programs, and YTV apparently took on a strong commitment to airing the series uncut and in its entirety. This was demonstrated most blatantly when one parental complaint was mockingly read on-air by former The Zone host Paul McGuire. YTV's broadcast continued even after Buffy was moved to UPN in the United States, not only making the US broadcast more widely available in Canada, but also gradually leading to a notable increase in violent and sexual content. Regardless, for its entire run Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired before the Canadian watershed of 9:00 pm. The only exception was the season six episode Seeing Red which was premiered at 9:00 pm. in 2002 due to extreme content. 'Farscape' In 1999, the North American debut of Farscape on YTV garnered a reasonable amount of positive attention from Canadian sci-fi fans, but controversy arose in 2000 with YTV's decision to not acquire the rights to the show's second season and skip the cliffhanger finale to the first season. Apparently, the promotional materials from the Jim Henson company used to pitch the series to various networks misleadingly depicted it as being youth oriented due to its use of puppets As such, the general direction of the series was a considerable contrast to YTV's expectations, and was ultimately deemed too "adult" for the network. This decision resulted in considerable fan outrage, and while the series eventually found a home on SPACE, many believe that the series was never able to attract its potential audience as a result of the initial cancellation. 'Anime' Ever since hosting the North American broadcast premiere of Sailor Moon in August 1995, YTV has become a central hub for anime fandom in Canada. While Sailor Moon still remained their most popular and influential franchise (enough to provoke the final seventeen episodes of Sailor Moon R to be dubbed specifically for the Canadian market) franchises such as Dragon Ball and Pokémon saw massive success on the station in following years. However, in 2000, YTV's confusion in attempting to market Gundam Wing, which had proven to be a monumental hit on weekday afternoons in the United States on Cartoon Network's Toonami block, posed significant problems for the medium's exposure in Canada. Although the movie based on the series, Endless Waltz, (which was aired before the actual series) was shown completely uncut, YTV's decision to air an edited version of the series at 11:30 pm. on weeknights due to uneven market research conducted through an online poll, essentially cut the series off from mainstream viewership. This contributed to the complete lack of many well known anime series being run on YTV for the next several years. However, this changed in late 2003 when InuYasha premiered on the network. Its popularity with teen viewers brought about the creation of the Bionix block in 2004, which aired on Friday nights. While some minor, inconsistent content edits occurred in programs like Gundam SEED as a result of this new focus (although the edits were few and nowhere near as severe as on American channels like Cartoon Network), the block has gradually matured with its content and tone falling more in line with that of Adult Swim. YTV's decision to air Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex in 2005 met with some controversy due to the show's content and adult nature. Despite airing at midnight, the episode Jungle Cruise was skipped due to its gruesome theme and content. Between the end of Limbo and the beginning of Bionix, YTV launched the Anime Master forum. The Anime Master character is portrayed as a red-suited masked ninja, dubbed in Snit's voice, and has made a few guest appearances in The Zone and Vortex segments. Live action show hosts have also done interviews in Anime North, most of the guests being voice actors for popular animated shows on the channel. The interviews were shown in the live action segments between programmes (called Animinutes), or as a separate block. In 2009, YTV moved the Bionix block from Friday to Saturday nights, cutting down the length and number of anime series on the block significantly. On February 7, 2010 the Bionix block ended. Current anime series on YTV include Pokémon, Beyblade: Metal Fusion, and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. On September 29, 2006, YTV Canada Inc. announced it had applied to the CRTC for permission to launch a Category 2 English-language specialty channel called The Anime Channel. The proposal included minimum 85% animated and related programming and maximum 15% information-based program, targeted at adults over the age of 18. A meeting with the CRTC was held on November 14, 2006. On January 30, 2007, CRTC approved the application for the license until August 31, 2013. The license allowed the channel to allocate not less than 65% of the broadcast year to anime programs, not more than 35% of the broadcast year to anime-related programs, not less than 85% of the broadcast year to programming from categories 7d theatrical feature films aired on TV, 7e animated television programs and films and 7g other drama, with no more than 15% of the broadcast year dedicated to information based programs. Corus Entertainment has not apply for an extension to launch this channel and have failed to launch this channel before January 2010 and has failed to launch this channel within the 36 months period. 'Bionix On Demand' In 2008, Corus Entertainment began offering a video-on-demand service called Bionix On Demand to cable providers. Rogers Cable and Shaw Cable were the only providers to offer the service. The service offered old and new anime programs that did not air on YTV itself. The video on demand service was previously titled "YTV Anime On Demand. Effective December 17, 2009, Bionix On Demand became defunct, and was replaced by YTV On Demand. YTV HD On January 11, 2011, YTV launched a high definition feed called YTV HD simulcasting the east coast standard definition feed. The channel broadcasts in 1080i picture format. Related businesses Whoa! magazine, YTV's official magazine, is published four times a year spring, summer, fall and winter. Whoa! is distributed through Pizza Hut, YTV Events, Chapters and Indigo book stores, Canadian newsstands, and subscriptions. Big Fun Party Mix CD's contain many songs from YTV's Hit List, plus performances by the station's own Nuclear Donkey. The Big Rip is a site for online games. The first game GalaXseeds, was launched on February 14, 2007. Logos Yea.jpg|The logo used from 1988-1991 GW258H196.png|Logo used from 1991-1993 YTV Logo.jpeg|The logo used from 1993-1995 YTV 1997 logo.png|The logo used from 1995-2006 3px-YTV logo.svg.png|The logo used from 2006-2009 1px-YTV logo 2009.svg.png|The current logo used from 2009-present. External links YTV YTV Media Museum of Broadcasting Communications: YTV Category:YTV Category:TV Channels